Boom Boom Boom Puto Bumbong

Christmas isn't all about shopping and stuff. It is also a season of good food that you get to taste only once a year. Other countries have Christmas cakes, eggnogs, fruitcakes, puddings and many more. In the Philippines, we have Christmas ham, Quezo de bola, a spherical shaped edam cheese, bibingka, a cake like dessert made of rice flour with coconut milk and topped with butter and sugar, and puto bumbong, a purple colored dessert made of glutinous rice topped with sugar, butter and shredded coconuts.

Puto Bumbong has been my favorite Christmas food here. It is made of "pirurutong" a glutinous rice variant  that has the natural purplish color, and is steamed in bamboo tubes (hence the name puto bumbong), and placed in banana leaves to serve as its packaging. It is topped with sugar, shredded coconuts, sugar, butter and sometimes sesame seeds. It can be bought near Catholic churches anywhere in the Philippines after the simbang gabi or midnight mass.

Perhaps I may not be the only one who likes this dish a lot, because several variations of this popular dessert  have sprouted the metro. Here are some that I tried.

Nestle's Puto Bumbong Limited Edition Ice cream

This may be weird for some, because Puto Bumbong is normally served hot. I personally don't like coconuts in ice cream. This one has shredded coconuts in it, so this isn't really for me. But if coconuts and ice cream is your thing, this is worth the try.

Via Mare Puto Bumbong

This is the gourmet version of the popular dish. It is served hot, and it is served on a plate. It comes with 2 standard puto bumbong on a bed of melted butter. The shredded coconuts muscovado sugar or ground "panutsa" is served on the side.

Puto Bumbong near the Church

After tasting the others, this is still my favorite. The traditional puto bumbong is freshly made and is served and packed inside a banana leaf. It is topped by shredded coconuts, combination of white and brown sugar, butter and toasted sesame seeds. I liked this because of its nostalgic taste, it brings back Christmas memories to all who grew up with these. And most of all it costs only a fraction of the price of the first two variants.

Merry Christmas to all!